Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Ripsnort on January 16, 2016, 08:24:18 PM
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Have had great success with 55 gr Hornady, BLC-2 @ 25.5 gr, CCI Sm Rifle primers for plinking ammo.
Moving onto this recipe for a bit more accuracy (Yeah, I know, Free Float barrel or bust! I ain't there yet)
68 gr Hornady BTHP Match bullets
24.8 gr BLC-2 Powder
CCI #41 .556 Nato Primers
LC cases (Sized, trimmeed and Mil primer crimps removed)
COL 2.255
Pressure-->CUP 42,500 (hopefully)
Started on the light side for this first 100. We'll see how the Colt likes them.
Ballistic Science is FUND !$
(https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/12487224_1256705511010015_2767841116080234065_o.jpg)
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The most accurate rounds I found for my mini-14 were the heaviest weight bullets. Brand, velocity, or even bullet features like hollowpoint or softpoint or FMJ didn't matter. The only thing that affected group size was bullet weight, the heavier the better.
Dunno if your colt will behave any differently but consider varying bullet weight in addition to how much powder you use to see if there's a sweet spot somewhere that isn't wholly dependent on velocity.
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Bullet weight can effect accuracy but that is more of a function of the rate of twist of the rifling, especially in the 223 caliber. The early AR's were set to the standard mil spec twist and were best for lighter slugs up to about 55 or 60 gr. Any heavier and they would not stabilize. A good compromise twist rate is 1:8 as it will stabilize a fairly wide spectrum of slugs. Not the greatest with the super heavy or super light but good for most in the middle.
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It should perform okay in my 1 to 7 twist.
I won't find out until next weekend though.
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Seems like the ballistics of a hollow tip rounds would be much worse compared to non-hollow tips.
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Shot my friends Mossberg AR this weekend...20" free floating bbl, all stock but for the Geissele trigger. Thing was a damn tack driver @ 100yrds sub 3/4" grps shooting Hornady ELD Match factory ammo. Not a bad little rifle at all.
Glad to see the reloading is going well Rip... :aok
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Seems like the ballistics of a hollow tip rounds would be much worse compared to non-hollow tips.
I think tip shape is less important than the center of mass (CG) of the bullet, however you can get marginally better ballistics with an aerodynamic pointed tip. Still, the effect is so marginally small that you'll get very similar ballistics from the same muzzle velocity for FMJ, soft tip, and hollow point, as long as the bullet doesn't tumble. .223 tumbles, which is why I'm saying CG and stability may be more important than tip shape.
I will say that for guns and bullets designed for really long range shots, the aero shape of the bullet can have a much larger impact on ballistics. The longest range ammo I have for my 7mm rem mag is almost 1/3 lighter than the heavier rounds, and the lighter rounds have both a boat tail and a plastic "ballistic tip". The lighter weight and shaping gives it higher muzzle velocity and a flatter trajectory, adding maybe 200 yards to the effective range of the bullet. On the flip side, the thing isn't any good against heavy game and it also tends to fragment when it hits and may even turn in soft tissue and exit very quickly without penetrating deep enough for a killing wound if the entry angle is too shallow, due to the plastic tip.
The heavy game round for my 7mm... you can get a hell of a lot of damage from almost any impact angle, at the loss of a couple hundred yards of effective range. It's still accurate out past 500 yards (I sighted it in at 300 yards with less than a 2 inch 5-round group the first time I shot it) even with the heavy game bullets so I never sighted it in for the lighter bullets.
But for a .223... If you're not a sniper you're probably better off picking a bullet that gives the best energy transfer profile for what you're shooting. In my opinion...
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I think tip shape is less important than the center of mass (CG) of the bullet, however you can get marginally better ballistics with an aerodynamic pointed tip. Still, the effect is so marginally small that you'll get very similar ballistics from the same muzzle velocity for FMJ, soft tip, and hollow point, as long as the bullet doesn't tumble. .223 tumbles, which is why I'm saying CG and stability may be more important than tip shape.
I will say that for guns and bullets designed for really long range shots, the aero shape of the bullet can have a much larger impact on ballistics. The longest range ammo I have for my 7mm rem mag is almost 1/3 lighter than the heavier rounds, and the lighter rounds have both a boat tail and a plastic "ballistic tip". The lighter weight and shaping gives it higher muzzle velocity and a flatter trajectory, adding maybe 200 yards to the effective range of the bullet. On the flip side, the thing isn't any good against heavy game and it also tends to fragment when it hits and may even turn in soft tissue and exit very quickly without penetrating deep enough for a killing wound if the entry angle is too shallow, due to the plastic tip.
The heavy game round for my 7mm... you can get a hell of a lot of damage from almost any impact angle, at the loss of a couple hundred yards of effective range. It's still accurate out past 500 yards (I sighted it in at 300 yards with less than a 2 inch 5-round group the first time I shot it) even with the heavy game bullets so I never sighted it in for the lighter bullets.
But for a .223... If you're not a sniper you're probably better off picking a bullet that gives the best energy transfer profile for what you're shooting. In my opinion...
Great post!
From what I've read, and seen others reply to on the innerwebs, your first paragraph is consistent with the info I've read/heard.
And .223 shooters that want accuracy, most move up to .308's. ;) Agree!
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eagl, I'm working up to reloading for my Remington 7mm Express (.280 round) Not a 7mm mag but certainly a true blue straight shooter in it's own right. Tack driver at the range. This was my mother's deer rifle in the late 70's and early 80's when she lived in Montana with my stepfather.
I took a few deer and 0 elk with it in Montana in my younger years (never saw a focking elk when I had a LICENSE!)
I have about 60 brass pieces now and this old semi-auto rifle is a tack driver.
I'm going to buy the dies, shell plate, and bullets and prolly 20 more pieces of Nosler brass.
(https://sportsdad60.smugmug.com/photos/i-w9wr7dt/1/X2/i-w9wr7dt-X2.jpg)
(https://sportsdad60.smugmug.com/photos/i-38QBSf4/0/X2/i-38QBSf4-X2.jpg)
(https://sportsdad60.smugmug.com/photos/i-5H9VF82/0/1663x935/i-5H9VF82-1663x935.jpg)
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That's a nice detail carving on the stock. I read somewhere that .280 / 7mm rounds often have an optimal shape ballistically, being very stable in flight. Same for how the .243 bullets are sized/shaped/weighted. .223 is somehow just about the worst bullet dimensions for stability from what I've read.